Philippines
Network Operators’ Group (PhNOG) is a non-profit organization
established to promote coordination among Network Operators in
Philippines. Focus is given to knowledge development of all members
as well as the Philippines IT community as a whole through
discussions on technical issues/concerns regarding the Internet and
network management.

The
theme of the PhNOG Conference was ‘All over IP – touching the
different facets of Internet, entwined to our daily lives’, on
which local and foreign experts shared their knowledge and
experiences with around 100 attendees from the local technical
community. The discussion tackled knowledge and experiences that
enable the continuous development of the Philippine Internet.

The
meeting was arranged with the generous assistance of the Philippines’
Department of Science and Technology’s Advanced Science and
Technology Institute (DOST-ASTI) and the Trans-Eurasia Information
Network Cooperation Centre (TEIN*CC).

The Cybersecurity Forum "International Collaboration for a Safer World" was organized by the Department of Science and Technology-Advanced Science and Technology Institute (DOST-ASTI) and Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas, Institute of Computer Science (FORTH) in Manila, Philippines on January 26, 2016, as one of the co located events of the Asia Pacific Advanced Network (APAN) meetings. The forum aimed to gather Asian and European researchers and ICT policy makers to discuss and exchange ideas and experiences on cybersecurity initiatives in various countries. Around 100 participants took part in the event coming from the South East Asian regions including Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. While countries from Europe, France, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, and also United Kingdom participated in the said activity.

The forum was opened by Mr. Rene C. Mendoza, chief of the Knowledge Management Division and technical team leader of DOST-ASTI for the Connecting ICT in Europe and South East Asia (CONNECT2SEA) project. His opening remarks were followed by an inspirational talk given by Director Alex Lim, head of the Science and Technology Division, Cross-Sectoral Cooperation Directorate, Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Secretariat. His speech included the value of International Cooperation for Development and collaborative initiatives on Science and Technology, to promote economic growth between different regions and other important EU-SEA collaboration milestones. Dr. Lim’s speech was then followed by a presentation about the CONNECT2SEA project which was given by Mrs. Svetlana Klessova, project coordinator and Director of Inno, TSD.

Other speakers of the event focused on several topics such as national projects implemented in various countries in ASEAN, research trends of cybersecurity in Germany, EU systems security road map, lessons learned and case studies in the industry, and the CONNECT2SEA cybersecurity roadmap which focused on priorities of policy, actions on cybersecurity in EU and SEA. Apart from these presentations, a guest speaker from the Ideal-ist Network provided information on European funding opportunities for EU and SEA collaboration under the Horizon2020 programme calls, particularly on the topic of cybersecurity. The day was concluded with a Knowledge Management activity, “World Cafe” which was lead by CONNECT2SEA partners, Dr. Sotiris Ioannidis of FORTH, Ms. Maria Irene Amatorio of DOST-ASTI, and Ms. Sri Saraswati W. Wardhani of BPPT. The participants were asked to write their answers to several cybersecurity related questions and the results of which will be included in the

CONNECT2SEA report on cybersecurity roadmap.

More CONNECT2SEA activities were also hosted by DOST-ASTI’s knowledge management division such as the advisory board meeting, formally opened by Denis F. Villorente, Officer-In –Charge of DOST-ASTI, and the signing of Memorandum of Understanding between CONNECT2SEA and APAN, which was initiated and supported by the consortium members, DOST-ASTI, Inno TSD, and ATC.

The Department of Science and Technology-Advanced Science and Technology Institute (DOST-ASTI), as the local organizing committee, and the Asia-Pacific Advanced Network (APAN) will be hosting the 41st APAN Meeting, with the theme “Manila Revisited: Enabling Connectivity for an Integrated World,” on 25 - 29 January 2016 at the Marriott Grand Ballroom, Marriott Hotel Manila, Pasay City, Philippines.

The five (5)-day event includes tutorials, workshops, demonstrations, and presentations covering network and application technologies, case studies of advanced networking in areas such as e-culture, grid computing, Ipv6, network engineering and security, among others. Alongside the APAN meeting are parallel activities conducted by various organizations, namely the Pacific Rim Application and Grid Middleware Assembly (PRAGMA), Connecting ICT in Europe and South East Asia (CONNECT2SEA), Philippine Network Operators Group (PhNOG), and Australia's Academic and Research Network (AARNet).

APAN is a non-profit international research and education (R&E) network that aims to promote global collaborations, as well as developments and advances in network-based applications and services among the Asia-Pacific region members. The APAN Meeting is held twice a year bringing together 300 researchers from over 30 member countries such as Australia, Bangladesh, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States of America, among others, to interact with researchers and practitioners from Asia Pacific and explore possible collaborations with international organizations.

The Philippines’ link to APAN was established in March 1988 and DOST-ASTI, through the Philippine Research, Education and Government Information Network (PREGINET), represents the Philippines in APAN.

In January 2007, DOST-ASTI hosted the 23rd APAN Meeting at the EDSA Shangri-La Hotel and Resort, Inc., which was attended by 311 participants. This coming year, approximately 200 foreign and 100 local participants are expected to attend.

Do not let this opportunity pass! Registration opens on 16 November 2015.